In 2021-2022 we heard unfamiliar terms like flattening the curve, boosters etc. Now we look to new buzzwords to look out for in 2023, let’s see if they’ll catch on:
- Passkeys
Pass…keys..any idea?
Yes, it’s related to passwords. It’s the new technology to attempt to get rid of passwords securely. Instead of memorizing (or noting down) all of your passwords, passkeys offer a simpler approach to signing in across any device, anywhere in the world. It works by replacing passwords with biometrically-validated tokens. So they can’t be guessed, forgotten, or stolen. This tech has a big impact by making digital crime like phishing attacks impossible.
- Deadpool
No, it’s not the movie. And it’s less sexy than Ryan Reynolds. This buzzword is actually environment-related. According to water experts, dead pool occurs when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can’t flow downstream from a dam because of a drought.
In the United States, the biggest concerns are Lake Powell in Utah-Arizona border and Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border which provide water for drinking and irrigation and hydroelectricity to millions of people in Nevada, Arizona and California.
- Resilience Hubs
This is the next level up of cooling centers. According to the Arizona State University, a Resilience Hub is a “trusted, community-serving facility that supports residents as a gathering space, and a place to find information to build community resilience and access a host of social service resources.”
Basically, you can expect hubs with air conditioning during a heat wave, charging stations for your batteries. There are also social services where assistance is at reach.
- TWaT City
It’s not a bad word! The capitalization of T-W-T may give you more clues. This is the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday on-site/work-from-home rotation carried over the pandemic. This also describes the shifts in various consumer practices. Before, bars in cities are expected to fill up only on weekends. But now, we notice that people turn up on weekdays like Thursdays.
- Horizontal and Vertical Escalation
Yes, escalation do indeed remind us of military terms. These are the two ways that escalation of a conflict can occur. Horizontal refers to the geographic expansion of the escalation. For example, Russia invades another country (besides Ukraine). Meanwhile, vertical refers to the intensity of the conflict increases. For example, the use of a new bomb or weapon is used to push the war.#
Buzzwords/jargons compiled from The Economist.
